UPSA Spurs Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Innovation With 3D Printing

UPSA, a pharmaceutical manufacturer producing more than 340 million boxes of tablets annually, owes its success to a remarkable family of doctors. In 1935, Dr. Camille Bru established UPSA (the Union de Pharmacologie Scientifique Appliquée) in France after discovering certain medicines are more effective when taken with sparkling water. This finding led to the development of effervescent remedies, a turning point in pharmaceutical research and production.

UPSA is now owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb, but as Mathieu Dumora, a technical and infrastructure project manager, explained, the company continues to build on its traditions.

“We’ve used [3D printing] for tooling new and replacement parts, improving the factory line, and creating custom-made parts and functional prototypes to accelerate the decision-making process. Its immediate and positive impact is reflected in the fact that in the first year of integrating the machine, we more than made a return on our investment.”